Don't Forget Me
by Emerald Moonrose
Summary: Pence was simplistic and never questioned anything. Not until he saw her. Might turn into a bunch of oneshots if I get into it.


Pence always was rather simplistic with his view of the world. When something was abnormal, he just shrugged and mentioned something about a conspiracy, but he never really believed it, just said it for the mere sake of saying it then went on with his life as if nothing happened. He was rather content with that way of living, never questioning and just living, but sometimes, he got that feeling that things were a little bit more complicated than he made himself think. Of course, he just ignored it and continued playing video games or hanging out with his friends, immediately banishing those thoughts from his mind.

However, when he met that black-haired girl, that changed.

The first time he saw her, he was just hanging out with Hayner and Olette in the Sandlot. Hayner was arguing with Seifer again, while Olette watched, irritated with the childishness of the argument, but not bothering to stop it. Normally Pence would have been looking on as well, maybe even glancing at Seifer's goons, Fuu and Rai. Today though, it almost bored him, and instead he took his time looking around, his camera held loosely in his grasp.

While he always argued his case of not being a nerd- in a good natured manner, of course, with Olette being quite complacent with the term- he always enjoyed taking pictures. You could call it a hobby of a sort. He didn't do it for any reason other than the fact that it was fun, taking pictures of memories that you could look back on. In one of his pondering times, he had rationalized that memories are sacred, and shouldn't be forgotten. Immediately afterwards he gave himself a mental whack over the head, but the thought still lurked in the back of his mind, and while he was never a really serious person, he didn't mind remembering it from time to time.

While Hayner and Seifer decided to duke it out in a Struggle match, as always, something caught Pence's eye and he turned. His eyes widened as he saw a young girl about his age racing across the rooftops, her black coat and hair ruffling in the wind as she cleared the roofs with ease, running to some destination that Pence wouldn't even begin to guess about. His mouth dropping open slightly, he almost called out to his friends, but something about the girl made him stop. The way she ran, the grace, and yet, at the same time, the way she looked, it was like she wasn't meant to be noticed.

So, instead Pence lifted up his camera and took a simple photo of the girl, jumping her way around the town, right before he got pulled aside by Olette to stop Hayner from making an idiot of himself- although, Pence commented afterwards, he did a fine job of it on his own.

That night, Pence thought about the girl before he went to sleep, his thoughts whirling about who she could be.

* * *

The next time he saw her, he was at the station with his friends again, all of them debating whether or not they should take a trip to the beach. They just needed a little more munny, and then they could buy pretzels while there, making the trip worthwhile, in Pence's view.

Seeing the girl was actually just another fluke, with him being the only one to notice her. He had looked up, away from the now arguing couple next to him- _"C'mon 'lette, we haven't gone to the beach once! It's a great use of munny, not a waste!"- _and he saw her again, sitting on the roof of the Clocktower, where him and his friends normally sat. From the distance he couldn't make out anything else, other than who she was, but he could tell that this time she was calm, swinging her legs and enjoying her time relaxing.

Then two other people walked up behind the girl, sitting down next to her. One had brilliant red hair that spiked out, while the other had blonde hair, which was almost as spiky as the other's, but not quite. The girl turned her head, acknowledging the both of them, but stayed quiet, none of them talking.

Pence bit his lip, then took a picture again, not caring about their privacy. In his defense it was a gorgeous photo, with the sun hitting them just right so that they seemed to glow. In a way, the trio reminded him of his trio- Olette, Hayner and himself. He couldn't let it go.

"Pence? Come on dude, snap out of it!" Blinking in surprise, Pence turned to Hayner, the blonde boy giving him a mock-irritated look. Pence gave him a goofy grin, then glanced back to the other three once more.

Just like that, they were gone. The only evidence they had even been there was the single photograph he had taken of them.

* * *

The third and final time he saw her, Pence was alone, on a dare Hayner had given him.

_"Check out that new hole by the Tram Com!" _Hayner had told him, his eyes shining with excitement. _"We'll be waiting here for you to tell us what's there. Don't chicken out!"_

With that he grabbed Olette and left, most likely to put up that dart board he had just bought for the Usual Spot. As usual, Pence just shrugged and made his way over there, taking his time and enjoying the walk. Upon reaching the hole, the first thing he did was poke it curiously, as if making sure it wasn't just a figment of his imagination. Of course, it wasn't, and Pence looked through the break in the wall, a slight frown drifting across his face as he noticed the beautiful forest just on the other side.

Pence had nothing against nature, and that wasn't the reason he was upset. The brunette boy didn't like having things he didn't know about, especially not in a place he lived his whole life. It wasn't that he considered the unknown scary, it was just that he always had to find out what it was that he didn't know, and that irritated him.

So, of course, when he had to make his way through, Pence had to say he wasn't very thrilled. Sure, the forest was nice, the sun gleaming through the trees in a way that made the whole forest shine, but Pence tended to hate long walks. He had more-to-love for a reason, and he wasn't made for this kind of thing.

Finally he made it out of the forest, and his mouth dropped open in awe. On the other side of a black iron fence was a huge mansion, majestic in the middle of the clearing. Some of the pillars in the front had collapsed, but it didn't make it look any less glorious. Pence could already hear the rumors that were going to circulate it, the insane ones that no one really believed, but were still fun to hear. _No one's lived in it for years, and it's haunted by a girl who wants nothing more than to go home. Scary, huh?_

"It's pretty, isn't it," A voice mentioned offhandedly behind him, the sound decidedly feminine. Pence jumped, then turned around, his eyes widening as he recognized the same raven-haired girl from before, standing a few feet behind him. This time he could see the still childish roundness to her face, and the indigo eyes that looked much older than the face they were set in. Those same orbs slid over to him, then back to the mansion.

"You… you're that girl that's been hanging around!" Pence said, his brain finally catching up to what was going on. The girl giggled.

"Yeah, I am," she confirmed it, her hands swinging a little in contentment. Then she looked back over to him, her head tilted in curiosity. "So, what's your name?" She asked, her hands slowing down. Pence blinked, startled.

"… My name's Pence," he eventually answered cautiously. She hummed in response, the gestures speeding up again.

"My name's Xion," she replied. It was said in an almost happy way, but at the same time Pence could sense some sort of turmoil in her. Sighing, Pence debated for several seconds whether to just leave her alone or ask something, anything. It only took a few seconds to declare the winner of that argument.

"Are you okay?" He blurted out. He blushed as she glanced over at him again, then relaxed as she smiled.

"Yeah, I will be. Hey, this might sound silly, but don't forget me, okay?" She gave him a questioning stare, and Pence fidgeted, bemused. It certainly was a strange request.

"Okay…?" He agreed hesitantly, ruffling the hair on the back of his head slightly. He jumped in surprise as he felt her next to him, and the warmth spread even more over his face than before as a soft kiss landed on his cheek. He turned his head up slowly, his brown eyes drifting over the happy expression on her face as she laced her fingers behind her back.

"Thank you, Pence. You have no idea how much that meant to me." With a little laugh, Xion jumped backwards, giving him a small wave. "See you in the next life, okay?" Pence blinked, and with that, she disappeared, with no sign of her ever being there. Slowly his hand lifted up to his cheek, his fingers drifting over the spot where he could still feel her kiss, and smiled.

After that, he always looked for her everywhere he went, but to his disappointment he never saw her again. For the first time, he was actually questioning something, and he didn't mind, because he just wanted to see her one last time, ask who she really was. But, if she promised that she would see him 'in the next life', whatever that was, then he was okay with it. He always went over his promise in his mind, making sure never to let it drift to the back of his mind. _Don't forget me, okay?_

A week after Pence saw Xion for the last time, Roxas came to town.

* * *

Ha! First Pence/Xion fic on Fanfiction! Might become a drabble/oneshot series if I feel like it.

Review? I know people should write for themselves, but it's always nice to know if others like or dislike what I write. It helps how I write and hopefully makes me better. Thanks for reading!


End file.
